Apple's First Evangelist On Why He Ditched iOS. Meet Guy Kawasaki

iOS 6 has turned a lot of people against the Apple ecosystem, myself included. What's interesting though is how far the disdain for the closed garden has gone. Enter Guy Kawasaki -- Apple's first evangelist, current Apple Fellow and the man who was involved on the ground floor with the first Macintosh computer. We caught up with him in Sydney to find out about his new daily driver and why he's turned on iOS.

Guy Kawasaki joined Apple in 1983 and started working as the company's chief evangelist. It was his job to shill the first Macintosh, and he did a pretty good job. He left to do his own thing in 1987 and since then has held roles as a venture capitalist, speaker and author.

He's on record saying that the first time he laid eyes on the Macintosh, he fell in love. The next piece of tech he fell as deeply in love with was Google+, which he's since written a book about. So what does Guy Kawasaki -- a dyed in the wool Apple guy -- love now?

"Android," he says, almost sheepishly.

I was stunned. How does this guy who got in on the ground floor of Apple only to turn on them years later? He went on to explain, and after he did, I saw his position. Guy's problem is with the walled-garden approach to iOS.

I love Android. Samsung gave me a phone so, full disclosure and everything. I love NFC, I love the fact that you can have a live widget that shows you emails. You can't do that on an iPhone.

Up until a week ago, your best case for a week ago was [a device] with 3G, but I've had 4G/LTE on my Android phone for months and months. That's usually about 10 times the difference when you look at speeds of four megabits compared with 40 megabits.

There's just little things, too, like if I want to make Chrome my default browser, I do it. I click on a link and now it boots Chrome. On that thing, he says as he points in disgust at my iPhone, "you have Safari and that's it." You can put other browsers on there, but when you click on a link it won't launch them. It's those kinds of things.

Guy doesn't even own an iOS device anymore -- not unless you count the loan iPhone 5 Vodafone lent him for participating in the telco's App Aid competition last week.

I thought his objections would stop at software, but no. Guy is very particular when it comes to the gear he uses. He's not at all a fan of 10-inch tablets, and doesn't understand people's objections to 7-inch gear.

"Why?" I asked curiously. Because 10-inch hardware is out to hurt you, he replied.

I think the size of [the Nexus 7] is perfect. I love the size. I think that 10.1-inches is just a little too big for me for reading. My test for a tablet is that if you fall asleep and the device hits your face, does it hurt you? The seven-inch doesn't and the ten-inch does, so that's my test!

So if Apple can't keep one of its earliest employees happy with what it's doing with software and hardware, what hope does it have of retaining other die-hard fans going forward?

Have you not seen the amount of negative comments their iPhone 5 review got? I could not care if they like Apple or not. But just don't keep putting up articles that will keep showing their dislike for Apple and their products. This people are meant to be tech journalists, they are not spose to have biased views. If they don't like the phone then fine, just say so and move on.

Bloody hell, not another stupid debate between "apple fanboys" and "android fanboys", pointing fingers, accusations and idiotic remarks. The fact is that Dan is right, this article is journalistic garbage and pathetic sentences like the last one really don't belong on any decent tech blog. This is just an opinionated piece from a sad disappointed user and the simple fact is that no one is forcing anyone to stick with any system, hardware or software combination. Everyone can choose whatever they feel like, what they think they need or that might suit them in terms of functionality or features and if they don't like it... switch, don't whine!

It's an interview - a report on a third party's views on a particular subject. It is completely relevant that this sort of article be published on a tech site like this, just as the same man was interviewed by the SMH (whose Apple bias is far, far greater than anything you might perceive as bias here). If you don't understand the inherent newsworthiness of a former Apple evangelist spruiking the virtues of Android, then there is something wrong with you.

Both? Who cares.
Giz, to me, is news, blog / opinion and a bit of trash all rolled into one. They're here for clicks / page views and to directly or indirectly influence your opinion on certain topics (debatable). Don't let it get your knickers in a knot.

The general dissatisfaction with newest release is quite telling I think. There will always be those in one of the opposing camps that will flame Apple. With the iPhone5 and iOS6 however, it's people who have previously enjoyed Apple products questioning if the newest release is the right choice for them. As it should be! All of these companies should be innovating and pushing each other to drive tech forward and compete for my money - not resting on their previous successes or trying to stifle competition by litigating (that applies to all).

Whoever gives me the best experience is the one I'll give my money to.
I'm not loyal - I pay them, not the other way around.

Sort of on topic - I find it amusing that Apple has historically been touted as being more about the user experience and less so about tech specs. That was all well and good until they shifted focus and started incrementally updating their OS and hardware. Now it's all about how powerful the processor is, how awesome that extra inch of screen real estate will be, how much better the cheap bundled earphones are (compared to the other cheap bundled earphones)... Meh.

As far as software goes, I value the user experience - but the one that *I* choose to have - not the one that's dictated to me as the one I should have. That's where Steve Jobs' arrogance and Apple's restrictive closed / walled garden never resonated with me. To each their own though - I'm not overly interested in what you (or anyone else) choose to use. Guy Kawasaki, Luke Hopewell and everyone else has their opinion. As long as no one is telling you that you HAVE to choose Android, Windows or Apple then shrug it off and go to the next article.

"So if Apple can’t keep one of its earliest employees happy with what it’s doing with software and hardware, what hope does it have of retaining other die-hard fans going forward?"

Probably won't have a problem at all, considering the majority of iFans I know vehemently and genuinely believe that Apple can't do a single thing wrong. They are the type that would argue to your face that Apple maps is a work of art. Remember those "Sh*t Apple Fanatics Say" videos? The guy in that video isn't far off the mark...which is scary in itself.

Apple's hope is that their products are so popular they don't care about the specs and the little things like choosing a default browser. It makes it easy for them. Guy K ditching Apple isn't a good sign, but Apple's walled garden approach would never suit him or a lot of us. The reasons Guy uses Android is exactly the reason I switched and have stayed, I won;t be looking back. I just find iOS too restrictive. I am also amazed at the little things you can get apps for. Who would have thought changing keyboard software to SwiftKey was for me, a god send. Good article. Keep it up.

Indeed.. Microsoft made this mistake.. and then Apple took over.. now Microsoft are slowly coming back.. slowly.. Apple could face the same in a year or two from now if they don't pick up the pace a little.

You're right Nathan. If Apple changed their way or flipped the world on it's head for the better again, I'd consider it.

I certainly don't think one has to be in a single camp. I own three phones, one Android, one Windows 7 and one Apple. I have to with what I do.

There seem to be attackers with any decision made in tech and in life. People are interested in the reasoning behind the decision. When people are too aggressive on the query, then the other side usually gets defensive and where we are, the phone OS wars.

What ever floats your boat, Android and the Google ethos currently float mine.

Its some guy that worked at Apple a long time ago. His current opinion on Apple products means nothing. Thats like asking someone that used to work at McDonalds if they still like McDonalds. Who cares?

I think theres a problem with the person if you fall asleep at the device and think a seven incher hitting your head is better than a 10 inched. he he..
Even if this was the other way around its a crap article.

What I can't stand, since time began, are people who proclaim to be in one camp or another with technology brands based on self conceived pseudo morale or ethical values like life depended on it or something. It's a gadget for crying out loud, people make it out like it's a religion or something and it's blasphemous to be seen holding a gadget from XYZ brand. "Won't buy any XYZ product because I have an XYZ problem with them because I am righteous and a tall poppy bla bla". It's suddenly cool shun whole brands of tech. Well your loss buddy. I'll buy whatever I think works best for me and fits my needs.

Get over yourselves, no-one really cares what brand you carry really. If it's what keeps you up at night worrying about what others think of you based on the gadget brand you carry then you need to re-assess your circle of friends, amongst other things. If it's not for you, don't buy it. It's not cool, you sound ridiculous. "Refuse to play Atari with you because my Commodore 64 is heaps better, how can you be happy with one red button?" I mean honestly.

What's wrong with an articulate man giving solid examples to back his position? He was asked some questions by a journalist and gave full and frank answers. There is every indication Guy Kawasaki is a pragmatist who makes solid choices based on his own set of needs. Who could possibly have a problem with that?

Going back 6 months ago I thought I would never consider getting rid of my iPhone, I thought I would just get the new model every time my contract is up, I eagerly awaited the iPhone 5 release, and it has done nothing for me, maps suck, and the chassis is so similar to the 4/4s. I was really hoping for something new. But my contract is up and it is highly likely that I will be going for the next iteration of Samsung Galaxy, possibly the rumoured S4. I by know means hate Apple, I own a Macbook Pro and a Mac Mini, I love them and have loved my iPhone 4 but the iPhone 5 is not nearly as good as the Galaxy S3, and when the next version comes out the iPhone 5 will be so far behind. I'm not willing to have a phone that is in tech specs equivalent to 2011 phones. My 2 cents!

when I had used iPhone for 18 months back in 2010 i was dead bored with their "yellow pages" approach w.r.t. app icons. All the same yellow pages in same places, you even wonder if you need a screensaver, unless you mess around appstore regularly. It is a boring experience for a mature user with low app churn.
Windows Tiles (Metro) seem a better idea. But inferior implementation, not looking great.

I'm over picking sides. Back before iPods I swore against Apple forever as a Windows user. Then they brought out an awesome product and I wanted it, the iPod.... Then the iPhone. For a long time, nothing really compared that I found interesting, now the Lumia 920 is coming out, I'm getting one, even though I swore never to buy Nokia again since n98. I'd buy a Ford GT500 Shelby over any car, even though previously, I preferred other makes. I'm a fan of whatever product I prefer at the time, I'm not going to worry about who manufactured it, because really... You can change a product at any time with no real consequence at all... Besides the $$$ obviously.

Disgruntled ex apple employee....Great final comment (said with sarcasm)...please comment about things that are factual not on a personal opinion... I left apple cause they didn't give me a pay rise ... Wow "Ex Apple employee removes himself from IOS" if he doesn't like it what hope does Apple have. Breaking news.

Am I the only one who's noticing the large amount of... for a lack of a better phrase, Apple fanatics? Normally Gizmodo's practically in bed with Apple, posting all sorts of "news" about how "great" Apple is, yet as soon as one journalist starts to speak out with an opinion that isn't favouring Apple he's practically crucified.
To me that seems fundamentally wrong - shouldn't we be looking at this rationally and logically, like the nerds we're all supposed to be? Shouldn't we be looking past some selective journalists views to establish the facts about products? Like fact: Guy doesn't like iOS6. Fact: Apple maps are not at the same maturity as Google's offering. Fact

*Fact: it's difficult to type large amounts of text on a softboard, period. Fact: Android isn't as old-person friendly as iOS.
Granted though, any interpreted bias can be deduced from my owning of a Galaxy Nexus, from which I've typed all this - not an easy feat...

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